This week's National Night Out turnout was an amazing experience. Including the groups that did not officially register, District 4 had well over 80 parties and the City had over 300!  The groups averaged 20-30 participants with a great many having over 50.  The variety of activities and sharing by neighbors was inspiring. Even with help from my husband and our intern, we missed a few parties; please accept our apologies.  I know that the cold drove participants of the last 3 groups I hoped to visit around 9 pm inside. Please send us some of your favorite photos.
 

McGruff the Crime Fighting Dog visits
National Night Out in Oakland.

 

   Today I invite you to join us at what I think will be another inspiring event.  The Laurel District is at the cultural crossroads or as I like to say "at the heart" of Oakland.  Representing such a diverse district, our office appreciates the many distinct communities in our area.  We are proud to be a sponsor of the Laurel World Music Festival, a place where we think everyone will find something new to enjoy.  Please stop by and visit us at our booth between Noon and 6 pm today; we are Booth #1 near Magee Street.
 

 



                                            Council President Pro Tem
 

• Laurel World Festival, Saturday, August 11, Noon-6 pm:  Join us between the arches in the Laurel Business District along MacArthur Blvd, 35th Ave to High St, in the Heart of Oakland for food, music, & booths. We'll be there with our booth filled with City and StopWaste.org information, demonstrating a CarShare vehicle, giving away energy efficient light bulbs from PG&E, and raffling off our new City Shopping bags.
  
   

OTHER HIGHLIGHTS:

Promotional Video for the Laurel World Music Festival
Video Scenes from Last Year's Festival

Enter our free Laurel Raffle and we'll give you one of these energy efficient light bulbs from PG&E. A compact fluorescent bulb uses 75 percent less electricity, lasts 10 times longer, produces 450 pounds fewer greenhouse gases from power plants and saves consumers $30 over the life of each bulb.







The World Music Stage, located on MacArthur @ 38^th Avenue:

• Noon-12:30 pm L.A.E. (Live Audio Explosion)
• 12:50-1:30 pm CV-1
• 1:50-2:50 pm Native Elements
• 3:10-4:10 pm Sila and the Afrofunk Experience
• 4:30-6 pm Reggae Legend Wadi Gad

• Boys & Girls' Club Car Wash Saturday, August 11: 9 am- 2 pm and only $10. Come out and meet productive kids at the Boys & Girls Club, 3300 High Street near MacArthur. All proceeds pay for surfing lessons.

• Parks for Peace, Saturday, August 11, 11 am-2pm, Brookdale Park: As part of the Community Spirit Project and Project Mosaic, Brookdale Park will be one of 12 Oakland parks declared drug free and designated for supporting and fostering positive lives and life-giving activities for youth and their families. Please join me and many neighbors in rededicating this park.  Over the last year we have made progress in reducing drug dealing on this part of High Street.  Improved lighting, new windows to improve supervision of the fields, and the new director Michael Foster have made a difference.  More families and young people are using the fields. Help us keep moving forward.

• << Following the Yellow Brick Road are (L to R) Greg Carlson as the Cowardly Lion, John Tichenor as the Scarecrow, Rachel Wagner as Dorothy, and Robert Moorhead as the Tin Man.  "The Wizard of Oz" runs August 10-19 at Woodminster Amphitheater in Oakland's Joaquin Miller Park.
  
  
   
• The Wizard of Oz at Woodminster Amphitheater: August 10, 11, 12, 16, 17, 18 and 19th-- all shows begin at 8 pm. Tickets are $23-$36 Chevron was increased its subsidy of free tickets for kids.  On each night EXCEPT SATURDAYS an adult may bring two kids 16 or younger free with each adult ticket purchased.  On Saturdays it is one free kid with each adult. ($2 discount seniors). Twenty three dollars for a family of three is cheaper than the movies! For details, call 531-9597.

• Joaquin Miller Dog Park Closes Friday, August 10; reopens Monday, August 20: Regular users know that the off-leash play area for dogs in Joaquin Miller Park doubles as a parking lot for Woodminster Amphitheater. Consequently, the play area closes on weekends when productions are held at the Amphitheater. The Dog Park closes at 6 pm on Thursday, August 9 and reopens by 10 am on Monday, August 20 (as you know, this is a pilot project, and O'Dog and the City are experimenting with different closure schedules during the Musical Theater Season). To volunteer to help with closing and reopening, contact:
   

• Family Explorations! at the Oakland Museum Celebrates End of the Oakland Public Library's Summer Reading program, Saturday, August 12, 12:30-4:30 pm: More than 10,000 Oakland kids participate in the Library's annual reading game over the summer. This year's theme was "Get a Clue @ Your Library". Watch a magic show by Timothy James, climb aboard our bookmobile, and join in fun craft activities. The Oakland Museum of California is located at 1000 Oak Street at 12th Street.

• Plastics Industry Brings Law Suit:  This week representatives of the plastics industry filed suit against Oakland on the premise that we needed to study the impact of banning plastic bags on the environment.  One of their arguments was that the ordinance allows compostable or biodegradable bags; they say such bags are a problem for plastic bag recyclers.  They are trying to use "green" arguments, but:
   
  • Less than 5 percent of plastic bags are recycled.
  • Oakland and San Francisco regulations will require that compostable corn oil, potato starch or other biodegradable alternatives be clearly marked so they can be sorted out.
  • Our expert witnesses told us that the variations in plastic bags are the real problem in recycling them. 
     
  • These articles in Salon.com cover some of the problems and make the argument why the preferable alternative is reusable bags.

• Send us a picture of your favorite reusable bag, tell us why it's your favorite, and get a chance to win a $100 in shopping certificates from Oakland stores! The Oakland ordinance to ban plastic bags, authored by Council Member Nadel and I, is effective in January 2008. We and San Francisco had originally considered adding a small fee like 5 cents, but the plastics industry circumvented local laws late last year by passing a state law preventing them for six years.  Such fees have reduced plastic bag use by 90 percent in Ireland, the first European nation to pass such laws.  What they found is that most people have switched to reusable bags. We hope Oakland shoppers will switch to reusable bags, too.

Last year,1,030 volunteers participated in a range of Oakland Creek to Bay Day projects at 20 locations around the City: 5 tons of trash were removed from Oakland's creeks and Lake Merritt; 207 cubic yards of non-native green waste was removed from our riparian (creek) corridors to make way for native plants to flourish; 250 storm drains were stenciled with the message "No Dumping, Drains to Bay (or Creek)" to remind people that our storm drains should carry only stormwater to our creeks and the San Francisco Bay.

Oakland residents who participate in this event, which is held as part of International Coastal Cleanup Day, join thousands of volunteers in all 50 states and 90 countries around the world in taking part in the largest waterway and beach cleanup of the year.

District 4 has several major creeks running through it:  Sausal Creek, Temescal Creek, Peralta Creek, Courtland Creek and their tributaries.  If you are planning a project in our district and would like help and support, please contact Jennifer Argueta in our office and  the Creek-to-Bay Watershed coordinator, 238-7611.

<<NATIONAL NIGHT OUT ON GEORGIA STREET:  One of over 80 National Night Out Parties in District 4 this week involving an estimated 3000 participants.  Our thanks to Dreyers for their donation of ice cream and U-Name It in the Laurel for getting our whistles done in time.




 

• Chauncey Bailey Memorial Fund:  Most of us are still stunned by the murder of  this Oakland journalist.  The family has established a fund for his son and asks that  donations be sent to the Chauncey Bailey Memorial Fund, c/o Bank of America Creekside Branch, 1188 Galleria Blvd., Roseville, Calif. 95678, account number 2350941279.
• Training Exercises at Oak Knoll:   Throughout the month of August, the Oakland Police Department and the Alameda County Sheriff's Office will be conducting training on the Oak Knoll site. Tactical exercises will include the discharge of paintballs, which may result in loud noises.
• Measure Y Forum at MSIC: On Thursday, Deputy Chief David Kozicki, Lt. James Meeks (PSA 2 commander); Anne Marks and Kevin Grant from the Violence Prevention Programs, Karen Stevenson from the Mayor's Office and I met with about 40+ Montclair residents at a special meeting of the Montclair Safety & Improvement Council at Zion Lutheran Church. We provided an overview of Measurey Y and its three components:
  • Funding that enables all fire stations to remain open through out the year; prior to Measure Y, stations in the hills were routinely on a rotating closure schedule most of the year.
  • Funding for 63 officers including community policing/problem solving officers for each beat, crime reduction team members, truancy officers and special victims unit officers.
  • Funding for violence prevention programs.

• Catalytic Converters Targeted: Several listserv's including Glenview and Maxwell Park have reported the removal of catalytic converters off of parked cars.  James Di Cicco from Maxwell Park emailed his neighbors to alert them that the catalytic converter was stolen from his Nissan pickup last Sunday. "Someone quickly cut it out and most likely sold it for scrap metal. The mechanic told us that he had five other customers over the weekend that reported the same crime.
  
  "Apparently catalytic converters in Japanese and German cars contain enough gold and platinum to be sold to salvage yards for a quick $5 - $20 bucks (it cost us $300 to replace), and a skilled person can cut them out quickly. If you have a car you care about, you may want to consider parking it in the driveway, or perhaps take other measures to keep it safe."
   

• How to file a Police Report:  Police use crime reports to plan patrols and follow crime trends. Commanders determine their priorities based on the number and severity of crimes reported. You don't have to rely on the police to actually make the report; for non-urgent crimes such as auto break-ins or after the fact home break-ins you can download a citizen's crime report  from the city's website.

• For a complete list of Neighborhood Crime Prevention Councils in District 4.
   

• For Frequently Asked Questions About Our Retrofit Program
• Join or start a CORE group on your block--first step is to get to know each other and share contact information. Learn more at the City's website for Citizens of Oakland Respond to Emergencies (CORE).
• If you are already CORE trained, consider taking additional trainings through CORE or the American Red Cross.
• Consider the following CORE courses -- all require advanced registration:
  • CORE Refresher (required for all 2003-2004 CORE graduates) October 13, 9 am -1pm
  • Disaster First Aid - September 22, 9 am - 4 pm
  • Managing Stress During Emergencies - October 27, 9 am - 1 pm
  • Managing Your Neighborhood Command Center Operations Effectively, November 10, 9 am - 3 pm
     
• Invest in an automatic gas shut off or gas interrupt valve.  Fires from broken gas lines are a high risk following a major earthquake. Know where your gas meter is located and how to shut if off manually, if you don't have an automatic shut off valve.
• Bolt bookcases, other tall, heavy items to the wall--injuries following a major earthquake are primarily due to falling and flying objects. A great resource is 72hours.org
• Even if you have retrofitted your home, you might want to consider a professional inspection.  Some studies suggest that as many as two thirds of retrofitted homes in Oakland do not meet today's standards. Some earthquake insurance companies offer discounts to homes that have been retrofitted.
   
• Earthquake Fault and Liquefaction Maps and other information

Now that the Council is on break, members of our office are taking summer vacations as well. Richard Cowan, our chief of staff, will return from China on August 17. During this time, we will not be staffing our usual Thursday office hours at the Police Substation at the Dimond Safeway.  Sue Piper, Jennifer Crawford and Jennifer Argueta are  holding down the fort. We continue our regular Laurel office hours (4173 MacArthur Blvd, 2nd floor) on Wednesdays from 4 to 6 pm or Saturdays from 10 am to Noon. 

<< Remember school starts before Labor Day again this year, August 27th.  New school sign funded by our Office's Capital fund grants for Laurel School.






 

• Help Our Children Prepare for School:  For several years now generous Oaklanders have prepared backpacks filled with school supplies for low income Oakland students.  Maxwell Park NCPC activist is helping organize this effort which will benefit several Oakland schools including our own Allendale School. Volunteers to stuff the backpacks are needed on Saturday, August 25th at 8105 Capwell Drive,   10:00 am to approximately 2:00 pm. Distribution to youth at Allendale will take place Monday, August 27th. We are in need of volunteers.  If  you would like to participate, please let Barbara Taylor 436-5253.
• Project Ready to Learn is accepting school supply donations through August 17th. They need backpacks, calculators, pens, pencils, college ruled notebooks, loose leaf paper, markers, rulers, safety scissors, glue sticks and erasers. Drop off locations in District 4 include:  Montclair Library, 1687 Mountain Blvd and Lincoln Child Center, 4368 Lincoln Avenue.
   
• Homework Assistance for Teens at Libraries: Starting September 4, the Oakland Public Library will launch a free drop-in Homework Assistance Program for teens, ages 12 to 18 years old. Teens who want help in English, math, research and science from an experiences volunteer tutor can come to one of six Oakland libraries for assistance. no advance registration is needed: just drop in on the days you want homework help to complete your assignment:
  • Asian Branch, 388 9th Street, Suite 190, Mondays 7 Tuesdays, 6-8pm (math only)
  • Dimond Branch, 3565 Fruitvale Ave: Saturdays, 10 am-Noon
  • Main Library-West Auditorium: 125 14th Street: Wednesdays & Thursdays, 6-8 pm
  • Melrose Branch, 4805 Foothill Blvd.: Mondays, 5-7 pm

For more information and locations, please call 238-7233 or one of the above libraries.

• Special Meeting to Prepare for Recruiting of New Principals at Joaquin Miller and Montera Schools attracts 150 staff and parents this week: After many years of devoted leadership, Joaquin Miller Elementary's principal Linda Lu and Montera Middle School's principal Cheryl Rodby have retired from the OUSD. The District is now about to launch a hiring process to find new principals for these two Montclair schools. Parents and community members interested in sharing ideas about what they'd like to see in new principals should fill out this survey, or to participate in the interview process should contact Joel Baum, Manager of Leadership Development at OUSD, at 879-4620.
• Free Moonlight Movies in the Park -- The 1st Annual Moonlight Movies in the Park. Free-to-the-Public Outdoor Film Festival in partnership with the Parks & Recreation Department, runs from July 24 - August 18. Fridays at Redwood Heights Recreation Center, 3883 Alison Avenue (Redwood Road & Highway 13). Free popcorn this week.Face painting at 7:30 pm, movies about 8:30 pm. Bring blankets, chairs, and warm clothes. If you have any questions, please call the center 482-7827 or email Center Director Breht Clark.
  • Week 3: August 10 Shrek
  • Week 4: August 17 Shrek 2

• Practical Wisdom for Parents: Demystifying the Preschool Years at GGP in Montclair:  Nancy Schulman and Ellen Birnbaum will be visiting a Great Good Place for Books on Thursday, August 16 at 7 pm to discuss their new book of the above title. The directors of the 92nd Street Y Nursery School in New York City, they draw on their fifty years of combined experience as educators, admissions directors, parents and respected leaders in early education to give parents of children between the ages of 3 and 5 guidance.
   
• Thinking Ahead -- Donate to Your Neighborhood School through Safeway 10% Program -- Safeway is once again doing it's 10% Back to Schools campaign for Safeway Club Card and eScrip shoppers. Schools usually receive a 1-2% rebate, but during this special promotion, Safeway shoppers can rebate 10% to their favorite school by shopping at Safeway between July 18 and September 4. If you are not enrolled in the Safeway e-scrip program, click here. Supporters of Redwood Heights Elementary who are not enrolled are encouraged to bring in their receipts to the school office in the fall. The receipt's redemption code helps the school claim the value of the purchases.

• Silence the Violence with the Athletics: Attend the Wednesday, August 15 Oakland A's game against the Chicago White Sox and $2 of every ticket sold will go directly to the Silence the Violence Youth Academy.  Pre-game activities start at 6:45 pm, first pitch at 7:05 pm. Sponsored by the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights, the Oakland A's and the Oakland Mayor's Office. To order tickets,428-3939 x400.

• Friends of Sausal Creek Environmental Speaker Series, Wednesday, August 15: 7-9 pm at Dimond Library. Sheela Weaver, former FOSC President, will lead a native plant drawing class. Try your hand at drawing native plants, experience unnecessary! Field trip to Dimond Park! Also on agenda-- plans for Creek to Bay Day coming up September  15.

• Meet the Moon Man at GGP on August 17: Who owns the moon? In 1971, Berkeley resident Barry McArdle claimed he did. He then spent the next 10 years crisscrossing America, in silver "moon costume" convincing over 100,000 people to "Take a chance on lunacy, support individuality, and creativity. Buy an acre of land on the moon!".Great Good Place for Books at 6120 La Salle Avenue in Montclair on Friday, August 17 at 7 pm.

• Little Miss Sunshine at Free Old Oakland Outdoor Cinema on August 18: The road trip antics of the dysfunctional Hoover family in Little Miss Sunshine will be the feature presentation on August 18. Prior to the feature presentation, the short film Angels and Wheelchairs by Oakland filmmaker Anthony Lucero will be screened. The series transforms Ninth Street between Broadway and Washington into an outdoor cinema with movies beginning at dusk. limited seating is available; filmgoers are encouraged to bring their own chairs and blankets. For details, call the Oakland Film Office at 238-4734.

• Neuropsychiatrist Louann Brizendine reads at GGP on Wednesday, August 22: the author of The Female Brain reads from her book on Wednesday, August 22 at 7 pm at a Great Good Place for Books, 6120 La Salle Avenue in Montclair.

• Monthly Outdoor Movie Series Continues Saturday, August 18: The highly successful Old Oakland Outdoor cinema series continues for a fourth season with Little Miss Sunshine on August 18; The Day the Earth Stood Still on September 15, and Babe on October 20. The series transforms Ninth Street between Broadway and Washington into an outdoor cinema with movies beginning at dusk. Limited seating is available: filmgoers are encouraged to bring their own chairs and blankets. For more information, call 238-4734.

Total Lunar Eclipse--"Once in a Red Moon", Monday, August 27-Tuesday, August 28: Early bird special through August 15 $10 for adults ($7 youth /senior/ student) after August 15 (13 for adults ($10 youth/senior/student). Purchase advance tickets by calling 336-7373.

• Get Outdoors. Give Back. Volunteer to Improve Joaquin Miller Park-Saturday October 6 through Sunday, October 7: Volunteers for Outdoors-California (V-O-Cal), the City of Oakland and my office are organizing a camp out and volunteer trail stewardship weekend in Joaquin Miller Park, as part of the ongoing work of our Joaquin Miller Working Group. Help create safer trail connections using hand tools, enjoy great fun, tasty food and evening entertainment for teens and adults.  Volunteers camp for free Friday and Saturday nights. Camping is optional and you can participate for one day, but we encourage you to come for the entire weekend. Register online.

• Allendale Park 4th Annual Barbecue, Wednesday, August 15, 6-8 pm:The park supplies the entres and drinks; bring a favorite dish to share with others. Allendale Park Recreation Center, 3711 Suter Street.

• End of Summer Roundup at Oakland City Stables, Saturday, August 18, 10 am-2 pm: Stop by 13560 Skyline Blvd. for an afternoon of horse and rodeo demonstrations featuring Los Charros, Las Escaramusas, Mexican Dancing Horses and more! Don't miss this crowd-pleaser for adults and children alike, as expert handlers showcase their skills in roping, reigning, vaulting and dressing real horses! FREE!
  
   
• Melrose NCPC's Annual Block Party - August 25.

• Maxwell Park's Annual Day in the Park, September 15 -- from Noon to 5 pm. Lots of food, fun, entertainment and children and youth activities. If you've got a business and you'd like to share it with the rest of Maxwell Park at the upcoming Day in the Park event on September 15,  for just $25 you can have a table at the event so that you can show others what you do! Contact Krista Gulbranson, Event Corodinator, at  304-3575. Deadline for booth sign ups is August 15.

• Allendale Park NCPC Picnic - September 19.

• Save the Dates --Sundays in the Redwoods: Here's the perfect way to build community and have a great time. Organize a pot luck with friends and neighbors at one of the upcoming free concerts at the Woodminster Amphitheater. Gates open at 2, concerts begin at 3 pm:
• Sunday, September 23
  - "Classical Sounds" featuring the Oakland East Bay Symphony, conducted by Michael Morgan 
• Sunday, September 30 - "World Music Fest" featuring the John Santos Quintet with Papa Mambo
• Sunday, October 7 - "Gospel: A Joyful Noise" featuring Sunny Hawkins
• Sunday, October 14  - "The Jazz & Neo-Soul Experience" featuring Goapele